r/FoodAddiction • u/madison_bee • 1d ago
My obsession with food
Hello Reddit, I’m new here as this is my first post so please spare me.
I(f20) am addicted to watching people eat food? I don’t know if I would even call it an addiction to be honest. Growing up throughout middle and high school, I have had an interest in watching people eat food. Most people know this as food ASMRs. For the people who don’t know (just in case), foodies or food influencers post videos of eating foods like seafood boils or fast food, basically anything edible/able for human consumption.
I have suffered with eating habits since I was in middle school, as I was picked on for my weight and physical looks. At several points in my life (and currently) I have acted on the habit of not eating everyday and feeling guilty when I do. So to fill that void, I watch people eat big portions of food. I strangely find comfort in it & enjoy it. I see different cultures prepare food and see how different their food is compared to the food here in the US. For example, this can include Japanese and Asian cuisine. It’s intriguing to see different diets of food being consumed, whether it’s a healthy meal or not.
I feel so embarrassed when people hold my phone and open it up to my socials or YouTube being filled with meals getting prepped and/or eaten. I try my best to hide it from everyone and I feel incredibly ashamed. I’ve tried to stop watching these videos by resetting my fyp’s on my socials and YouTube, but they keep coming back when I watch simple recipe videos or anything correlated to food.
I do not find watching people eat sexual in any way, rest assured. I just don’t know what to do about this issue. Is it weird to be intrigued by such a thing? I feel like I have this issue or “hobby” due to the fact that I have a silly logic in my head, which is this: “if I watched them eat, that means I ate too”. What do I do, Reddit? Should I stop watching completely? Should I find better ways to cope with my eating issues? Am I really that weird? :(
EDIT: Feel free to ask me any questions and I will answer whenever I can!
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u/Aggravating-Pie-1639 1d ago
First, stop letting people “hold” your phone and open all your apps, that behavior is unacceptable, it’s none if anyone else’s business what is on your phone.
Second, millions and millions of people watch videos of other people preparing and eating food, or else these videos wouldn’t exist.
Finally, there are a lot of resources in the FAQs/Info for this subreddit, if you think watching these videos are a part of an unhealthy relationship with food/eating, check out the resources available.
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u/_OhMyPlatypi_ 1d ago
Yeah, that's a big boundary. Unless your a child, no one should be snooping through your phone, even in the scenario with a parent looking though it monitoring, there shouldn't be judgemental, just inquiring about something that may seem odd.
As a adult, unless it's an emergency situation, no one should be using your phone. It literally access to your financial, medical, academic, government, etc records.
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u/humbledbyit 1d ago
You mention not eating every day and feeling guilty is you do so, past weight issues, liking watching ppl eat on sm. Do you feel that your thoughts and life are heavily occupied with food, eating & weight management or control? If yes, and you state you feel guilty if you do eat daily then that's something to explore further. Sone of us get well through traditional means : therapy & such. Sone of us have talked about it to death & do t need to unpack or past or know why we do it just that we want to stop. If someone does want to stop but can't or they lose control with & feel remorse then they may want to check out a 12 step program. That is for ppl who feel there are no more options to try & are desperate to get well I have found 12 step programs saved me from the ongoing weight & eating obsession. I keep working the steps to stay well.
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u/madison_bee 20h ago edited 6h ago
I do feel as if my life is occupied by food . Whenever I get fast food or eat more than one portion of food at my house, I usually have someone comment on it & it makes me feel worse. I want to get this issue of mine resolved but I’m scared to even mention this to anyone, as I’ve not mentioned it to anyone irl.
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u/HenryOrlando2021 1d ago
Thanks for letting us know about your thing. I would agree that there is nothing wrong with watching food preparing and eating. Unless, they are a trigger for a person or they are a variation on this phenomena:
What is euphoric recall in addiction recovery?
https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodAddiction/wiki/faq_what_is_euphoric_recall/
The "...not eating every day..." is not recommended for those with eating disorders. Then are you trying to change your behavior? Seems so or you would not be here posting. It really does not matter what I think about rather you continue your current behavior or not. I do know the consequences for both options you have to pick from.
If you want to change, there will be pain. Give this a read for example:
Behavior that produces a rewarding or relieving consequence is more likely to be repeated. If a person repeatedly responds to a particular cue or craving by eating Food X, the brain may learn to expect that food in the same situation.
When the person stops completing that familiar pattern, the craving, self-talk, and uncomfortable feelings may initially remain strong and may sometimes become more intense, although this does not happen to everyone. If the person repeatedly experiences the craving without eating Food X—and while still meeting genuine nutritional needs—the learned connection can gradually weaken, and a new response can become stronger.
Over time, the craving may become less frequent, less intense, shorter-lasting, or easier to tolerate. It may sometimes disappear, but that cannot be guaranteed. Old cravings can also return during stress, fatigue, renewed exposure, or familiar situations without meaning that the person has failed.
When it comes to it, your choice is bearing the short-term pain of recovery or the long-term pain of the disease. Next, a person must stop thinking they cannot do this. That is one's disease voice talking to them. They can do it. There will be pain and they can do it. So, give this a look if you think you want to change.
Start with these two:
Then check our FAQs + Program Options (free/low cost). If you’re not ready for a program, use Books/Podcasts/Videos + Special Topics to start learning on your own.
One step at a time.